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US denies helping Taiwanese cruise
missile program
AFP, WASHINGTON
The US has not provided any help to Taiwan in its bid to mass produce cruise
missiles, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday, as a Chinese military delegation
held talks in Washington.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang (趙世璋) confirmed to the
legislature for the first time on Wednesday that Taiwan was mass-producing
cruise missiles.
“Mass production of indigenous weapons like the ones under the codenames of
‘Chichun’ [Lance Hawk] and ‘Chuifeng’ [Chasing Wind] is going very smoothly,”
Chao said.
Asked whether the US had provided any assistance to Taiwan in its program,
Pentagon spokesman David Lapan said: “Don’t believe so.”
NO SPECIFICS
Chao declined to specify the range of the missiles or the number to be put into
service.
However, the Chichun project refers to the Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missile,
Taiwan’s answer to the US-made Tomahawk. Chuifeng is a project to develop the
nation’s long-anticipated supersonic anti-ship missile.
At the start of the year, Beijing cut military contacts with Washington when the
US announced a US$6 billion arms contract with Taiwan that set out the sale of
missiles, helicopters and equipment for F-16 fighter jets.
RESUMED TIES
However, ties have resumed, and a Chinese military delegation led by General Ma
Xiaotian (馬曉天) held talks at the Pentagon with Michele Flournoy, the US
undersecretary of defense for policy.
The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, has indicated that US
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will visit China next month in a sign of
thawing in the strained ties between the countries’ militaries.
Taiwanese experts estimate China’s People’s Liberation Army currently has more
than 1,600 missiles aimed at the nation.
Although cross-strait ties have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was
elected in 2008 on a promise to boost cross-strait trade and tourism, tensions
remain and the most prominent symbol of the lingering hostility is the high
number of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan.
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